1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods of the present general inventive concept relate to an image forming apparatus and an auto color registration method thereof, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus and an auto color registration method thereof to control a driving rate of an organized photo conductor and to improve accuracy of auto color registration.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus including a printer, a multi-function device and a scanner forming a color image includes an image forming unit including a plurality of exposure units i.e., a light scanning unit (LSU) provided corresponding to a plurality of colors, and a plurality of image receptors i.e., organized photo conductors (OPCS). The plurality of image receptors is arranged along a moving path of a print medium moved by a moving means such as a transfer belt.
To print an accurate color image, a starting point and an ending point for transferring an image should be consistent for all of the plurality of colors. Thus, the image forming apparatus performs an auto color registration (hereinafter, to be also called ACR). The ACR means a job which examines whether an image in each color is accurately registered in the transfer belt and adjusts the image automatically upon occurrence of error.
The image forming apparatus detects a plurality of patterns transferred on the transfer belt corresponding to a plurality of colors, and performs the ACR with respect to the color which is out of a registration location. More specifically, the image forming apparatus measures an X offset and an Y offset by using a distance between the plurality of detected patterns, and performs the ACR to register the position of the patterns with respect to the plurality of colors by using the measured X offset and Y offset.
Meanwhile, the image receptor and a gear which drives the image receptor are generally asymmetric. Thus, jitter or slip may occur from the transfer belt or the image receptor.
As the ACR is performed based on the location information having errors due to the jitter or slip, the ACR adjustment may be less accurate.